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Eric Moutsos wants you to understand this: He’s no bigot. He’s just a religious man, he says, with some personal convictions against homosexual behavior. The former Salt Lake City policeman says he has many LGBT friends. He just did not want to ride as a uniformed motorcycle escort in the front of last year’s gay pride parade. And that conviction, the devout Mormon and father of four says, prompted him to quit the department after being placed on leave over the incident. “I love gay people,” the 33-year-old told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. “I love them like I love humanity. I just did not agree with some of the messages in that parade.”...

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Eric Moutsos wants you to understand this: He’s no bigot. He’s just a religious man, he says, with some personal convictions against homosexual behavior.
The former Salt Lake City policeman says he has many LGBT friends. He just did not want to ride as a...

In a move that shocked progressive advocates in Kansas, the state's Republican governor on Tuesday issued an executive order to remove discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgender state employees.
State employees in Kansas can now...

Seven years after the Mormon Church led followers on a campaign to outlaw gay marriage in California, church leaders on Tuesday announced their support for job, housing and public accommodation protections for gays and lesbians everywhere.
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At first, they were just joking.
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Same-sex couples can begin marrying in Florida next month after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a request for a stay from the state's attorney general.
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Billionaire Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who rose from poverty by building a privately held restaurant chain that famously closes every Sunday but drew unwanted attention for the Cathy family's opposition to gay marriage, died Monday at his home...

Supreme Court wonks, gay rights groups and the public were bemused last month when the Supreme Court declined to review federal appeals court decisions striking down state bans on same-sex marriage.
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A gathering of bishops and cardinals at the Vatican on Saturday backtracked on an interim document released early last week that showed greater openness to homosexuals, suggesting that Pope Francis’ effort to move toward a more inclusive Roman Catholic...

Just 12 years ago, it was illegal for gays and lesbians to marry anywhere in the U.S.
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The pastor walked the streets of Lower Manhattan, his hands trembling. A day earlier, he'd been stripped of his ministry, defrocked by the United Methodist Church for presiding over his gay son's wedding. He was afraid he'd never lead a church again.
...

Three federal appeals court judges who have ruled in favor of gay rights in the past are to hear arguments Monday on whether to uphold same-sex marriage bans in Western states.
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A New York City Catholic group has pulled out of next year's St. Patrick's Day parade, just a week after parade officials decided to allow a gay rights group to march in the event under its own banner.
The Catholic League For Religious and Civil...

The remarkable thing when this tiny nation legalized same-sex marriage in June wasn't that the conservative-leaning prime minister, Xavier Bettel, supported the new law.
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Mississippi's governor signed into law Thursday a measure that allows individuals and organizations to sue the government over laws that they feel thwart their ability to practice religion.
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Brendan Eich's 10-day reign as CEO of Mozilla, developer of the popular Firefox web browser, ended Thursday. He was done in by the news that he had donated $1,000 in 2008 to support Proposition 8, the anti-gay rights measure on the California ballot...

Hey, gay rights activists: Why are you doing your best to make everyone hate you?
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Whether a business can refuse to do business with same-sex couples may be a hot political topic, but it’s apparently not ready for prime time at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, the court declined to review a decision by the New Mexico Supreme Court...

Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage will remain in place while the state fights a federal judge's ruling that declared the ban unconstitutional, an appeals court decided Tuesday.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed...

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Semugoma, an outspoken gay activist, was determined to remain in this country, where he has lived for two...